This is the penultimate book in Erikson’s epic[1] “Malazan Book of the Fallen” cycle. This is the only fantasy cycle I’ve read and enjoyed since… well, the Lord of the Rings. However, Erikson subtly subverts the Manichean worldview of Tolkien and his epigones, introducing a gritty, smelly world of forces in precarious balance. It’s hard to describe, but it’s “realistic” in a way that Robert Jordan’s plastic world isn’t.
It helps that the writing is funny, and that Erikson has a good grip on both anthropology and military tactics.
“Dust of Dreams” is of necessity a cliffhanger, being but the first half of the end of the cycle. After reading this explosive tale I literally cannot wait for the sequel, The Crippled God. Highly recommended.
[1] for once, the word is used unironically.